A salute from this corner to President Bush for saying he was willing to investigate raising or eliminating the cap on salaries subject to the Social Security tax.
Nick Clooney

America has faced much more difficult times, including potential national extinction, without flinching.
Nick Clooney

America, the temple of invention and industry, doesn't make things anymore.
Nick Clooney

As I listened, it occurred to me that interest in and affection for the animals that share the planet with us may be a more unifying force than any other.
Nick Clooney

Conventional wisdom holds that setting a timetable for getting American troops out of Iraq would be a mistake.
Nick Clooney

Currently, 94 out of 100 of us pay the Social Security tax all year round.
Nick Clooney

For some reason, on that sparkling afternoon last week, I actually saw the coal that was passing by and it set me to thinking how important coal was to our everyday lives when I was a little boy.
Nick Clooney

In economic panics throughout history, the wiping out of the savings accounts of lower earners and the middle class has often led to social revolution, sometimes violent upheavals.
Nick Clooney

In matters large and small, many people seemed concerned about churlishness, an ugliness in our relationships that appears to be increasing rather than decreasing.
Nick Clooney

In my opinion, the president is right to address future funding, even though Social Security will show a surplus through 2018 and will not run out of funds until 2042.
Nick Clooney


It is impossible to exaggerate the wide, and widening, gulf between the American attitude on the Iraq war and the view from our friends across the Atlantic.
Nick Clooney

It is statesmanlike for the administration and Congress to look to our nation's welfare beyond their terms in office.
Nick Clooney

No matter how many troops we have in place or how long they stay, we cannot impose a parliamentary democracy there any more than the insurgents can impose a theocracy.
Nick Clooney

One of the pleasant duties of America's most famous announcers during the relatively short swing era of the big bands was to host late-night remotes from some of the most famous ballrooms throughout the country.
Nick Clooney

Our actions in the Middle East over the last 15 years have already guaranteed radical Muslims quite enough ammunition to kill Americans for the next century, even if Guantanamo did not exist.
Nick Clooney

Our nest eggs, no matter how small, are safe.
Nick Clooney

Perhaps our Irish friends should not so completely turn their backs on their historical dishes, no matter how many jokes they might have to endure.
Nick Clooney

Respect and affection for animals, particularly those who share our homes, recognize no geographic borders.
Nick Clooney

Social Security is at last on the nation's front burner.
Nick Clooney

The kind of Iraq that emerges from all of this is ultimately out of our hands.
Nick Clooney